The unpopular and dangerous decision by Cambridgeshire County Council in February to cut winter gritting by one-third has been reversed.  The same roads that were gritted last year will continue to be gritted this year.

A Liberal Democrat proposal to yesterday’s council meeting to restore the gritting was seconded by UKIP.  The Conservatives submitted an amendment which the Lib Dems accepted and incorporated into the motion. The proposal to restore the gritting was then agreed by an overwhelming majority.

This decision should never have been made in the first place.  Public safety is paramount, and getting around the county is essential for work, school, and our local economy.

Thank you to everyone who signed the petition and took part in the campaign.

It appears that the vigorous Lib Dem campaign against * the Conservatives’ winter gritting cuts could be about to pay off.

A motion from Lib Dem Lucy Nethsingha to today’s meeting of the County Council (item 9a on the agenda) says:

This Council notes:

• the changes to gritting routes in Cambridgeshire, published on 14 October 2016.
• the prediction of freezing weather this winter resulting from movement of the polar vortex.

This Council believes the extent of gritting proposed is inadequate for the safety of Cambridgeshire residents and will leave a considerable number of villages completely isolated in the event of ice or severe snowfall.

This Council also believes that ensuring the roads remain open during periods of bad weather, is crucial to ensuring the economic prosperity of the County.

This Council therefore asks that the Chief Executive reinstate as many of the gritting routes from last year’s gritting plan as possible, particularly roads to local secondary schools and roads that keep villages connected to the highway network, using money from the Council’s reserves to fund any shortfall above the budgeted cost, up to an additional £650k.

It now appears that the Conservatives, who voted the gritting cuts through in the first place, will now be backing the reversal of their bad decision – but amending it to try to claim the credit and ‘asking opposition parties support’!  In a staggering display of hypocrisy and blame-shifting, their leader Steve Count is trying to claim it was their idea to reverse the cuts, and to blame his officers for the Conservatives’ decision.

The Conservatives are the largest group on the council, though without an overall majority.  This is further evidence, if any were needed, why they are not fit to run the county council.

*[And yes, each of those is a separate link to a separate part of the Lib Dem campaign].

16/01645/FUL
Sutton
Land at junction of A142 Ely Road Sutton
Construction of new convenience store with three retail units and associated car park.

A petition has been launched to try to persuade Cambridgeshire County Council to reverse the cuts it has made to winter gritting this year.  Please sign it at https://signme.org.uk/1277 and share the link with friends and neighbours!

On Tuesday 13 December the county council will debate a motion put forward by Cllr Lucy Nethsingha calling on the council to reinstate gritting routes, particularly to schools and to villages which would otherwise be cut off.  The more signatures on the petition before Tuesday, the better.  Thank you!

Fantastic news!  The Chequers PH in High Street, Sutton has been listed by East Cambridgeshire District Council as an ‘Asset of Community Value’ (ACV) under the terms of the Localism Act 2011.

The council has written to me to confirm that it has accepted the Parish Council’s application for the Chequers to be listed:

“The Council’s ACV panel has determined that this property does qualify as an Asset of Community Value and it will be included on the Council’s list of Assets of Community Value for the following reason:

• The Chequers has been approved as an Asset of Community Value as it demonstrates that the venue is used for a variety of reasons as well as being a public house. It is used by a variety of groups which includes darts players, walkers, cyclists and other groups. As well as being used as a place for eating and drinking it is also a social hub for the village.  The pub has historical significance with reference dating back to around 1811 and is now the only pub in Sutton.  The venue is used as a point of contact for new residents, providing information about the village and its services as well as a meeting place for local people, providing themed evenings for social interaction. It is also used as a place to commemorate family events such as birthdays and funerals.”

This new status means that the owners cannot change its use or demolish it without allowing its users to comment; and the planning inspectorate can use it as a factor in refusing planning consent for change of use or demolition.  It also allows the community to bid to purchase the building to ensure its continued use as a pub.

The owners must tell the council if they wish to sell the pub, and a community group that wishes to buy it has six months to put together the money. This decision will help protect our remaining local pub.

East Cambridgeshire District Council has published the Christmas and New Year waste collection dates. Check the list on the flyer above!

Do you or someone you know need extra support during a power cut?

Although power cuts don’t happen very often (though they seem to happen more in Sutton than in many other places!), when they do they can be worrying.  UK Power Networks is the electricity network and provides a ‘Priority Services Register’ for people who might need extra help in a power cut.

Older people, families with very young children, and people with specific medical conditions are among the many people who are eligible to register for free support.

You can find more details and register by visiting ukpowernetworks.co.uk/prioritysupport or calling 0800 169 9970.

16/01567/FUL
Witcham
Pond Farm, 21 High Street, Witcham CB6 2LQ
Residential development for three houses plus garages and change of use of existing agricultural barn along with new vehicular accesses to 21 High Street and plot 2.

Last night East Cambridgeshire District Council was the first to vote to accept the Government’s ‘devolution’ package for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

With £20M a year for 30 years, and money for affordable housing across Cambridgeshire and council housing in Cambridge, it sounds like a gift horse we shouldn’t look in the mouth. We want investment in rail connections in and around East Cambridgeshire, in better roads, in housing, and other things we’ve been sadly lacking all these years – of course we do. And I’m fully supportive of such investment.

But.

1. No Government can tie down its successors to particular spending items for 30 years. They can’t even keep their own promises on grant funding to councils for four years.
2. The £20M will not rise with inflation. Inflation is very low at the moment, but is predicted to rise soon, and could go up to four per cent or more.  If so, in 30 years’ time £20M will be worth less than half what it is now.
3. We don’t know how much of the money is new, and how much would have been spent in Cambridgeshire by Government anyway.
4. The Government has insisted that to have the money, we must have an expensive elected Mayor whether we want one or not. Most people don’t want a Mayor. The only way the Government can get people to accept elected Mayors is through this sort of bribery.
5. The Mayor will be given a ‘general power of competence’, which will basically allow him to do a lot of things without needing explicit permission. This is despite a promise from the Government that this wouldn’t happen. They sneaked that proposal through in a last-minute paper produced last Wednesday and not circulated to councillors until Monday of this week.
6. There will also be a new tier of government, a Combined Authority, to make decisions on how the money is spent.
7. The £20M will be split into £12M capital to be spent on projects, and £8M to be spent on revenue items. The cost of the new tier of government that is being set up to administer all this will come out of the £8M. That cost will be £1.7M in the first year, and £6M over the first five years.
8. The Combined Authority will consist of members appointed by the councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The Combined Authority will take powers not just down from Government, but up from councils, making it more remote, more likely to take bad decisions, and more unaccountable.
9. The powers the Combined Authority will be taking away from councils include powers over concessionary bus fares and bus operator grants. And Peterborough will have a veto over spending on transport plans in the rest of Cambridgeshire.
10. The Combined Authority will have a scrutiny committee. A majority of its members will come from the local councils. But it doesn’t say where the others will come from, or who chooses them. The councillor members on the scrutiny committee must reflect the political balance of councillors across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. But the other members could be deliberately appointed to swamp that balance and stop the scrutiny committee asking awkward questions. I’ve asked whether my reading of the parliamentary Order on this is right. I’m not a lawyer. But no lawyer has yet told me I’m wrong.

So a huge yes please from me to cash for Cambridgeshire. But it’s a shame leaders at district and county council level weren’t prepared to be more robust in dealing with Government over all these issues, and caved in so readily. Which is why I couldn’t give it my unqualified support last night.

Sanctuary Housing is offering up to £1,000 of funding to community groups in Ely through its Grand Ideas Fund.

The fund is open to local community groups and charities who need some financial support to deliver activities and projects which fit one or more of Sanctuary’s five priorities:

• employment, education, skills and training
• health and well-being
• community safety and infrastructure
• environment
• financial inclusion

Sanctuary is looking for applications for up to £1,000 from community and residents’ groups, registered charities, schools, social enterprises and parish councils.

Local community projects or groups in need of funding should

• call Sanctuary on 01905 335411
• email community@sanctuary-housing.co.uk
• or visit the Sanctuary Housing website for more information.